Alberta has the newest housing starts per capita in all of Canada. Experts say while this is addressing supply and demand, it likely won’t have a major impact on prices in the market.
Alberta recorded the most housing starts between January and November in 2024, nearly 43,000 new places for Albertans to call home. Which represents a 35 per cent increase from the same stretch in 2023.
“Calgary still another strong year setting another record, Edmonton, in turn, has had a massive year in terms of housing construction to help meet some of the housing demand challenges we were facing, and then we’ve also started to see other municipalities like Red Deer, Lethbridge also start to pick up,” said Scott Fash, CEO of Bild Alberta Association.
Meanwhile, Ontario’s number of housing startups fell 17 per cent in 2024. BC is also down by eight per cent.
Fash says the province’s growth has come in large part due to affordability, which has started pouring over into more mid-size cities.
“That’s what’s attracting people from B.C. and Ontario to move to Alberta, that also is what’s helping us attract international immigrants,” said Fash.
As more new homes become available, those in line to buy them may be anticipating a price drop.
One realtor says that’s not going to be the case, even though interest rates are down and there are more homes for buyers.
“It’s going to bring a pool of people that couldn’t buy a home before to being able to buy a home, or people who actually want to upsize now,” said Erick Yip, Realtor of Re/max Elite.
Yip says with more houses hitting the market and cheaper monthly payments, more people will enter bidding wars.
Also adding the cost of goods and services has only gone up in recent years.
So, while building a home is easier, it’s not cheaper.
“It’s going to create a frenzy, and will definitely create a multiple offer situation where more than one buyer is going to submit an offer, and essentially, that’s going to drive the prices up,” said Yip.
For people who simply aren’t looking to buy a house, and want to settle into a halfway decent apartment.
2024 saw a record-breaking pace for construction on over 99-hundred apartments kicked off in the first half of the year.
Surpassing the mark set in 1977 for most apartments in a 6-month span.